No Shops, No Jobs, No People—The Collapse of a First-Tier City

In the once popular shopping mall in Haizhou district, Guangzhou, the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors are empty and the shops are not open. What happened in 2025? Do you think that only physical stores cannot be rented out? This is not the end. Office buildings are also difficult to rent. You see, this is a Creative Park office building next to Nangang subway station. It is very difficult to rent. Most of this floor is vacant. No company is willing to come in to work. I really don't know how they maintain the operation of these office buildings. In general, with the economic downturn, many companies have chosen to go to cheaper office buildings. And some companies may have gone bankrupt. In recent years, China's economy has continued to be sluggish. Recently, there have been many discussions that Guangzhou's economic growth has slowed down and may even face the risk of falling from a 1st tier city to a 2nd tier city. At the same time, local people have found that fewer and fewer people live in Guangzhou and many houses cannot be rented out and the streets are much quieter. Let's talk about related topics today. Who knows what's going on? It's too weird. Did the 20 million people in Guangzhou suddenly give up eating collectively? Look at the catering business. When I came out at noon, there was no one in the store. I thought everyone went home to cook but the vegetable market couldn't sell any vegetables. What's even more confusing is that from the north to the south, from Hangzhou to Chengdu, this phenomenon is happening in cities all across the country. Where have people gone? Or do people not eat now? This blogger went to a shopping mall to purchase second-hand equipment. This shopping mall used to be very popular, but now there is no one. When I came to buy from this store, I thought the mall was under renovation. Because from the fences of each store, I could see that various well-known brands were about to open, but I heard from the boss that the merchants here had actually withdrawn. Although the location of this mall is good and the boss has signed a three-year contract, there has been no traffic since the second half of last year. Generally, when we say there is no traffic, we mean that there are fewer people. But this mall is very strange. Almost empty. The malls that I have seen before were all empty on a whole floor. But this mall has no people on all three floors. Especially in April, everyone said where the people went, and no one came out to consume. Guangzhou native Liao Jianhao is pessimistic about Guangzhou's economic prospects. He told Radio Free Asia, Many shops in the city are closed, and a large number of migrant workers have lost their jobs and returned home. Those houses are not rented. He believes that Guangzhou's economy has regressed 20 years. He said, The economy in 2015 was much better than it is now. The current economic level is about the same as in 2005, which is more realistic. The Shangxiazhu Road Pedestrian Street in Liwan District, Guangzhou, is famous both at home and abroad. However, the blogger noticed that many shops on this street were closed, which surprised him. This video takes everyone to see the current situation of Guangzhou's famous Shangxiazhu Pedestrian Street. First, let's talk about the current time. It is 5.23 p.m. on April 22, 2025. We can see that many shops on Shangzhu Road and Shangxiazhu have closed down. They are not temporarily closed, but closed for good because their signs have been removed. See, not only on this side, but also on that side. And it is not just one or two shops that have closed, but many shops. When I saw it for the first time, I was surprised. You know, this is Shangzhu Road and the famous Shangxiazhu in Guangzhou. Looking at this row, I don't know what happened. If it were other roads, it would be understandable. But as Shangzhu Road is a pedestrian street, it is a bit unreasonable. Why has it fallen to this? In the past, it could be said that it was difficult to find a shop, which also made the rent of shops here soar to 100,000 yuan a month. At that time, even if some shops closed down, they were quickly taken over by the next buyer. But now you can see that many shops are not rented, and I don't understand. Zhejiang New Town is located in the west of Tianhe District, Guangzhou. It is an important commercial activity center in South China. Many landmark buildings in Guangzhou, such as the Guangzhou Jodefu Financial Center and the Guangzhou International Financial Center are located here. But the current situation there is not optimistic. Now it is near the Tankun subway station in the east district of Zhejiang New Town. We see that two shops across the street have closed down. It is more obvious here. The ones that have closed down are investment securities companies and real estate agencies. Even the shop that used to sell high-end red wine, foreign wine, and bird's nest has shrunk to such a small size. This is the subway exit. The vacancy rate of shops on the neighboring street is so high. Then let's see who the survivors are. You see such a large shop is in the medical beauty industry and the tea industry. The actual situation is similar to the information I have come across. In the past two years, a large number of financial and real estate agencies have gone bankrupt. In fact, the consumption or investment of many rich people has also been affected. We can see that many high-consumption stores have gradually closed down. I even saw many auction and pawn shops entering Zhejiang New Town. It seems that everyone is a little short of money now. The takeaway brother Axuan found that many stores have closed down, especially those in the catering industry. This used to be a northeast dumpling store with many orders, two or three hundred orders a day. But it has also closed down. It has been vacant for more than two months but has not been rented out. This is a shared kitchen on the second floor. There is no dining room. It is all online business, which is what you call a takeaway store. I have witnessed the process from the initial full occupancy of dozens or 20 stores to the current sparse occupancy of only a few. Zhangqiu also closed down and Michenkingnian also closed down. Guangzhou is really terrible. Now the bankruptcy rate of physical stores is as high as 80 percent. What is the concept? It means that if you go shopping, there are 100 stores on a street, and only four stores will remain after a year. This is what a lone customer in Guangzhou said to me today. He said that at the peak he opened eight stores in Guangzhou, but now there is only one left. There are fewer and fewer physical stores, and there are fewer fireworks in Guangzhou. Let's take a look at the urban area of Panyu, Guangzhou. Why is it so desolate? It feels like many stores are basically closed and you can't see many people on the street. I remember when I came here in high school, it was still very prosperous. Let's take a look. Basically, many shops have closed. I didn't see many people in the third section. Maybe they can't continue to operate. I don't know if it was affected by the previous epidemic, which caused the flow of people to be diverted, and there are very few people going out to shop. In 2014 and 2013, there were crowds of people, but now, hey, there are fewer people in Guangzhou. I feel it has become quite obvious in the past two years. Some nearby villages used to have many clothing factories, some with a few people, and some with dozens. All those factories have disappeared. They have left many clothing factories or stores, but they are not rented out and are sitting empty. I also worked there before. There were six elevators in the office building. During the morning rush hour, there was a long queue outside the office building to get on the elevator. Now, this phenomenon is rarely seen. The new way to die in 2025 is to come to Guangzhou to find a job. If you don't believe it, you can buy a ticket and take a 25-hour train to experience it yourself. You can't find a job here, but you won't starve to death. This Guangzhou is a first-tier city with many opportunities and strong tolerance. It gives many young people opportunities, but you will find that there are many opportunities, but also obstacles everywhere. The salary is ridiculously low. You are either working for your boss, working for your landlord, or working for Meituan. It has been about seven or eight days since I resigned. Every day when I was looking for a job, I was really anxious and felt that there was no hope in life. You want to work hard, but you don't know where to start, and then you can only watch your savings decrease and your mood gets worse and worse. Today is my last day in Guangzhou. Tomorrow, I will go to Xinjiang to help farmers and see if I can find the ultimate value of life. Sorry, I am going to desert Guangzhou, a so-called first-tier city. Dongguan is no longer the world's factory as it used to be. Many large factories have moved away. The electronics and shoe factories that once employed tens of thousands of people have all moved to Southeast Asia. So it is obvious that fewer and fewer people are working in Dongguan. The wages in Dongguan are disgusting and too low. Dongguan is no longer a paradise for workers. I am now in Dongguan Zhennan Science and Technology Park. You can see there is not a single person in this industrial zone. Don't come to Dongguan if you want to find a job. Dongguan East Station used to be the first stop for many migrant workers heading south. Everyone came to Dongguan to work with bags full of confidence. Now, look at how many people are carrying their luggage back home. It is really difficult to find a job this year. Many factories cannot receive orders, resulting in more and more people becoming unemployed. Those who have jobs now should cherish them. The U.S.-China tariff war is in full swing, with the U.S. imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese imports and China imposing a 125% tariff on U.S. goods. The tariff war has had a significant impact on China's export trade. A large number of foreign trade companies, especially those specializing in exports to the United States, have seen orders disappear, companies suspend operations and production, and are finding it difficult to survive. The impact of the tariff war on Dongguan, the world factory, is beyond imagination. Let's talk about related topics today. Dongguan is a world-renowned manufacturing center, especially famous for industries such as electronics, footwear, and furniture, which has attracted a large amount of foreign and domestic investment. However, with the outbreak of the Sino-U.S. trade war, the supply chain shifted, Taiwanese and foreign capital withdrew significantly, and the number of unemployed people in Dongguan skyrocketed. As it was hard to find jobs, four million people left Dongguan, and its prosperity faded. If you work in Dongguan, what impact will the Sino-U.S. tariff war have on us ordinary workers? If the goods from the Dongguan factory cannot be shipped out, the factory's orders will decrease. If the factory's orders decrease, the demand for labor will not be as great. But there are still so many people looking for jobs, and there may be wage cuts and layoffs in the future. In the future, more and more people may look for jobs in Dongguan. So no matter what factory you work in Dongguan, as long as you can still work normally and your salary is paid on time, don't resign easily. You must hold on. There are only two words, hold on, and hold on until the situation improves. So don't quit easily. That's all I can say. The biggest loser in the tariff war is likely to be Dongguan, the world factory. There are about 14,000 companies of some scale here, 60% of which are engaged in foreign trade exports. Now that orders have plummeted, life is not easy for Dongguan. A few days ago, I visited an old customer of a Taiwanese company. The Qingming Festival holiday was originally only one day, but now it has been extended to five days. What is the most terrible thing? In order to survive, these large factories have to turn to domestic sales to compete with some small local factories for the market. The entire industry has now become more competitive, and it is the kind of competition that is competitive to the extreme. The blogger said that he saw someone raising his arms and shouting online, clamoring to counter the United States at all costs, and he couldn't help but want to say something to the other person. Stop shouting. You may be the cost. The blogger said that this wave of the tariff war has brought Dongguan's manufacturing industry the most severe test in nearly 10 years. Are the bosses in Dongguan sleeping well recently? Under the influence of the tariff war, many factories are already complaining bitterly. Let's first look at the electronics industry. Even for large manufacturers like Oppo, the procurement cost of high-end chips will increase by 30%. Production costs at TCL's foundry in Chang'an town are expected to rise by 15% to 20%. There are also more than 200 small electronics factories in Shijitown that may face the crisis of being forced to suspend production. The clothing industry is even worse off. The order volumes of major foreign trade factories such as Humi's Lianyi Garment and Xinfeng Garment have begun to shrink. Originally, one factory had to take orders for dozens of production lines, but now it is lucky to be able to keep half of them, not to mention those small garment factories, many of which have already started laying off employees. In the plastic toy industry, the raw material costs of OEM factories such as Hezhong Hongfeng in Qingxi town have increased by 25%. For educational electronic product manufacturers like NOAA, the purchase price of wafers has doubled and profits are almost being squeezed out. What's even worse is that some foreign companies that have set up factories in Dongguan, such as a well-known British electrical appliance brand, are considering moving their production line to Vietnam from their OEM factory in Dalong. Don't ever come to Dongguan again. It's really hard to find a job in Dongguan this year. It's only March, and most factories have already stopped operating. Even if they recruit again, they only recruit girls. Some factories set requirements based on age, education level or height. Some factory wages have dropped from more than 20 yuan an hour at the beginning of the year to 17 or 18 yuan now, which is simply taking advantage of our labor. In the market, good factories are no longer hiring, and most factories have few orders. Factories that used to recruit are now fully staffed, with 100 to 200 applicants for a position that previously needed just 10. It's tough for workers this year. The job market in Dongguan is bleak, with limited opportunities beyond sales, factory work and customer service. Now, jobs choose us, unless we have strong personal advantages. After graduation, I realized how realistic this society is. Jobs offering 3,000 yuan-slash-month without basic social security are common, and finding a 5,000 yuan-slash-month job is hard. My husband and I earn 7,000 yuan-slash-month, and we aim to save 4,000 yuan this month. This is our 22nd year working here. In the first 10 years, I had no savings, raising three children on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. We live frugally but still lack a house and money. With elderly parents and young children to care for, we feel uneasy without savings, so we don't spend freely. It's hard for unskilled workers like us to find a high-paying job, so we save every penny. We often eat noodles without meat, and we're used to it. Blogger Xiaoyu traveled from Shenzhen to Dongguan for a Huawei interview, preparing her graduation certificate. Life feels exhausting, running around just to survive. Now I have to take the bus for more than 20 stops. I really can't hold it anymore. Have an omelet. I got on the train, and the navigation showed that it would take two hours, with more than 20 stops in total. It was completely wasted. I've gotten off the bus now, but I still have to walk for half an hour. I originally planned to scan a small single-breasted one, but there were no small single-breasted ones around. We arrived, but the agent said that the place was fully booked for today. It was only 9 o'clock, and it was already full, so we had to wait until tomorrow. It's completely useless. I have to stay in Dongguan for another night and come back for the interview tomorrow morning. I can't go back to Shenzhen today. This is Xiaobianwanhe Commercial City in Chang'an Town, Dongguan. Many shops are empty. It was difficult to find a shop in the past. Why was that? China resources also went bankrupt. The street, which was once crowded with people and bustling with activity, is now in a different place, and you can no longer see that bustling scene. It means that the prosperity of an era is gone forever, leaving only the youth and memories of a generation. The rent in Dongguan is getting cheaper and cheaper, and all the large factories with hundreds of employees have moved out, such as electronics factories and shoe factories. After they moved away, Dongguan lost at least 100,000 people. In the past, transferring a store would require tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan in transfer fees, but now no one wants it, even if you don't ask for a deposit. Those apartments used to be occupied as soon as they were vacated, but now no one is interested in them. I have a friend who contracted a large apartment and spent a lot of money on renovation, but now no one lives in it. He is now very confused and helpless and doesn't know what to do. Under the current situation, how can those landlords survive? This is the city center of Dongguan, and there is no one there. Brothers, where are the people? There is no one on the streets in Dongguan's city center. It is now past eight o'clock in the evening. Where have all the people from Dongguan gone? This is Minying International Trade City in the center of Dongguan City. There is no one here. It's the peak season now when everyone is out having fun after work, so there are only a few people here.